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Sinag Maynila Film Festival presents the finalists for 2018

Friday, February 23, 2018

The Sinag Maynila Film Festival: Sine Lokal, Pang-Internasyonal presents its finalists for the Full
Length, Short Film, and Documentary categories. Now on its fourth season, Sinag Maynila remains true to its advocacy
as the roster of films this year capture the artistic storytelling that appeal
to international film festivals.

Sinag MaynilaCEO and Founder Wilson
Tiengand world-renowned and internationally acclaimed film director
Brillante Ma Mendoza are grateful
for the unwavering support of the sponsors, film and entertainment industry,
and the media since the launch of the festival back in 2015. The immense success of Sinag Maynila paved way for the
international recognition of Tu Pug
Imatuy (The Right To Kill) and Kristo
in the Tokyo International Film Festival
last year.

Similarly,
the following Full Length films are in the running for more international recognition.
While some of the finalists have already been screened overseas, all films will
be screened and made available in Philippine cinemas for the first time through
Sinag Maynila.

ABOMINATION by
Yam Laranas

A young woman
is found unconscious in a city street - claims to be another person who was
brutally murdered two months earlier - escapes from a psychiatric hospital in
order to prove her identity and find the truth about her life, her death, and
her murderer.

Pipo makes ends meet by taking on
the toughest jobs.Life is more
difficult because he’s deaf.He supports
himself and his teenage lover Cyril. His irate boss is getting difficult and
Ben, his childhood friend wants his daughter Cyril back. Like a bomb, Pipo’s
ticking to explode, anytime soon.

Abner
lives a drab, downcast, solitary existence. His wife has abandoned him for
good. Working for pest control company Panther, his job remains his sole
connection to the outside world. It seems going nowhere until he meets Viola, a
client whose existence is as sad as his. As sexual tension between Abner and
Viola turns to illicit affair, Abner devices something that will eventually
lead to a tragedy that will change their lives forever.

A story of the friendship between
two men — Alex, a Filipino mechanic, and Jerry, a Taiwanese aborigine student.
The two meet randomly when Alex flees to Taipei from Manila and a casual
conversation develops into a surprising personal connection between them. The two
men go on a road trip and eventually reconnects them with their mothers and
both discover a certain sense of identity and freedom.

Stars Oliver Aquino and Ta Su

The
following titles are the finalists for the Short Film and Documentary
categories:

SHORT FILM

1) Cesar &
Magda - Pamela Barrios

2) Firestarter
- Jill Urdaneta

3) Halusinasyon
- John Agcalis

4) Kalye FM -
Tom Nava

5) Pompoms -
Angelo Amar

6) The Duwende
- Odin Fernandez

DOCUMENTARY

1) Am-amma -
Dexter Macaraeg

2) Halaga -
Vandam Arambulo

3) Journeyman
- Albert Almendralejo

4) Mahal -
Janine Santos

5) Tsuper -
Rina Abary

6) Voltaire -
Jaimee Bernardo

The 2018 Sinag Maynila Film Festival will be from March 7 to 15 in select SM
Cinemas within Metro Manila— SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, SM North EDSA,
SM Fairview, SM Southmall, SM Bacoor, SM Manila, and SM Sta. Mesa. Sinag Maynila Film Festival is made possible by McDonald’s,
in partnership with FDCP and CineLokal.
Special thanks to our official venue partners SM and SM Cinema.

Get the full list of entries and details
via http://sinagmaynila.com/. Join the conversation at #SinagMaynila2018! Get updates on Sinag
Maynila via Facebook.com/SinagMaynila, Twitter and Instagram via @sinagmaynila.Subscribe also to the official Sinag Maynila
Youtube Account:https://www.youtube.com/SinagMaynila.

In celebration of the 100 years of Philippine Cinema, Sinag Maynila independent Film Festival 2018
is partnering with the Film Development Council
of the Philippines (FDCP) and CineLokal. For a hundred years of filmmaking in
the Philippines in the hands of native-born filmmakers starting with Don Jose
Nepomuceno in 1917 (with the establishment of his company, Malayan Movies), the
history of Philippine cinema has gone through diverse and unbridled periods. It
began with the colonial period under Spanish and American rulers, it has
survived a tragic war under the Japanese, enjoyed an advancement during
the post-war independence, went through the period of Martial Law, and has
transformed in the modern digital era.

For the week of March 7-15, Sinag Maynila and FDCP have lined up special screenings, forums,
and workshops to further highlight the 100 years of film in the Philippines.